Chowder (TV series)
Director Greenblatt had been sketching various characters since his days on SpongeBob SquarePants for his own animation series concept. The sketches were worked on until a solid concept appeared, ultimately evolving into the Chowder characters. Chowder himself was developed with no specific species in mind, but rather with the intentions of invoking the image of a child's soft squeeze toy. Some of the inspiration comes from Richard Scarry, with other inspiration from Saturday morning cartoons. Shnitzel was created originally as a personal character design exercise in the late 90s. I was even going to try and animate him in Flash, so I did alternate pieces of him. Back then he was called "Tapiocaca." He was supposed to be sort of like a big rock tiki monster that was always on fire. I even made a cool logo for him. Well I didn't really do anything with him after that, but I still liked the design. So when I was forming the world of Chowder, he seemed like a good fit. I like to think of him as a living menhir from the Asterix comics. —C.H Greenblatt Once Greenblatt pitched the concept to Cartoon Network, it was about two years before the series was greenlit for production with another year in production before the pilot episode aired. Greenblatt estimates he spent about seven years working on Chowder before the show made it to air. Each episode is produced with a 30 second puppet sequence that is meant to run over the ending credits. Cartoon Network chooses not to air these credit sequences but the episodes are still delivered to Cartoon Network with them. Episodes can be purchased from the iTunes store in the United States which are delivered with the sequences as are episodes which are available on Cartoon Network's VOD website also within the United States. One of the unique design features of the show is the patterns used on the characters’ clothing. The patterns are developed as a full screen image and then sent to the production house where the characters are modified to fill the patterns in over the character clothing. Using this technique, when a character moves, their patterns do not follow, but display as a "static" background. A similar technique was used in several Japanese anime, such as Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei, Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo, the French/British animated series Corneil and Bernie and in The Ren and Stimpy Show for the bit-part character The Announcer Salesman/That Guy. Main Chowder is set in the fictional Marzipan City, based loosely on New York City, where varying cultural differences coexist with each other, and where the populace takes unusual occurrences in stride. The city is vast and never-ending, with wildly different geographic locations appearing side-by-side without breaking the overall harmony of the city's image. For the architectural style of the city, examples from Moroccan and Indian architecture were referenced. The inhabitants of Marzipan City, including the show's primary cast, are composed of various strange non-human creatures, ranging from anthropomorphic animals to more abstract and surreal beings. A joke is even made of this in one episode where a teddy bear-like citizen wins a game at a street fair, and is rewarded with an ordinary human in modern western clothing. Occasionally, parodies of characters from other media appear, such as Doozers. Within the universe of Chowder, characters and locations are named after or are alterations of various dishes or foods. The currency is the dollop rather than dollar and "sments" rather than cents. Other examples include a type of candy "grubble gum" (bubble gum), "cinnamini" (cinnamon), "shmegg" (egg) and "blutter" (butter). The show is filled with puns and meta-references which are integrated with a high degree of sophistication. One example is when Chowder is learning to write and scribbles on the screen. Gazpacho erases this, and Chowder points out the Cartoon Network screen bug. Gazpacho comments "That one doesn't come off. Truse me, I've tried." The city of Marzipan is held up by a Giant Man who loves Burple Nurples. Characters *'Chowder' (voiced by Nicky Jones/C.H. Greenblatt in Chowder Grows Up) - Chowder is a small, eccentric child who is serving as a chef's apprentice under Mung Daal. Chowder lives with Mung Daal and Mung's wife, Truffles, in a room at the top of the catering business. Chowder wants to become a great chef, but he is very impulsive, and often gives in to his urges. He is always hungry and eats anything, even a customer's order.Chowder can also regurgitate objects and is often used as a storage container by the other characters. According to C.H. Greenblatt, Chowder is a composite of a cat, a bear and a rabbit. *'Mung Daal' (voiced by Dwight Schultz) - According to his Cartoon Network bio, Mung Daal is the greatest chef in the world. Whilst it is not known exactly how old he is, he has mentioned that he has cooked for 386 years, and he also celebrated 450 years of marriage that means Mung was 64 years old when he met Truffles and at least 30 when he bought his catering company. Mung owns a catering business where he invents rare food like the "Not fruit" (pronounced No Fruit) and has a personal, eccentric cooking style, often refusing to resort to traditional methods. Mung is very prideful to the point of being his downfall. He has a high opinion of himself, and considers himself to be quite the ladies man, despite his marriage to Truffles. Mung has a mustache and claims it is what makes him a 'real chef' and when Chowder grows old enough to grow one, he will be a real chef too. *'Truffles' (voiced by Tara Strong) - Truffles is Mung Daal's wife, who handles the business side of Mung's catering business. She is a mushroom pixie, and like Mung, is quite old (having been married for 450 years), though her true age is also never revealed. She is usually practical, but has a foul temper and easily loses patience with her husband, his staff and their customers which is a source of intense fear and terror amongst the rest of the show's cast. She speaks with a slight Yiddish accent, and sometime uses associated words. *'Shnitzel' (voiced by John DiMaggio) - A rock monster and professional chef who works at Mung Daal's Catering Company. His vocabulary consists almost only of one word, "Radda", repeated over and over, though he sometimes says other simple words such as "Ok" or "Oh!". Despite this, none of the characters have difficulty understanding him. Shnitzel is the "straight man" to the other more excitable characters, and is frequently agitated. He often gets stuck with menial labor or cleanup duty, and is easily angered by Chowder's antics (even to the point where he suggested chucking him into the furnace). Despite his remark, Shnitzel really has a soft spot for Chowder, as he cries when it was thought that Chowder has vanished forever. Kevin Michael Richardson voiced Shnitzel for one episode, "The Froggy Apple Crumple Thumpkin" " and was replaced at the last moment by DiMaggio due to Richardson being unavailable during that period de to work on other projects . *'Panini' (voiced by Liliana Mumy) - A girl who has a crush on Chowder, and lets him know this at every opportunity. Chowder does not return the feelings, and responds with "I'm not your boyfriend!" whenever she greets him. However, when Chowder announces that he wishes to get married to save her reputation, she turns him away, although she has evidently since resumed her crush in subsequent episodes. It is shown she has an angry side, such as forcing Chowder to eat a "flart," slapping away his hand, and knocking down Gorgonzola. She is Ms. Endive's apprentice, notably making better progress than Mung Daal with Chowder. According to the creator, she is of the same species as Chowder. *'Ms. Endive' (voiced by Mindy Sterling) - A tall and pudgy chef who teaches cooking to Panini with strict discipline. She is the thorn in Mung Daal's side, berating his cooking style at every turn. A meticulous mountain of a woman who insists on perfection in everything she does, her cooking style is the complete opposite of Mung's; precise and textbook-perfect. She is often unkind, and considers Mung Daal to be her inferior rival. But she once cried and told panini he was a good man when she had thought he died. In the episode "Chowder's Girlfriend", it is revealed she despises boys and boyfriends because her fiancé did not show up on their wedding day. The creator describes her as Martha Stewart with Oompa-Loompa colors. *'Gazpacho' (voiced by Dana Snyder) - A mammoth-like storekeeper, who sells strange produce and ingredients. He does his best to offer advice to Chowder when needed. He lives with his overbearing, unseen mother, who is apparently very controlling of him. Gazpacho shows no interest in moving out and improving his own life, once even exclaiming "I had so much to almost live for" when he thought he had been fatally shot. Gazpacho also likes to soak in a pickle barrel when he is depressed. *'Gorgonzola' (voiced by Will Shadley) - An apprentice candle holder with a surly attitude. He resents Chowder due to him having a better job. He is an anthropomorphic mouse with a candle on top of his head. ' *"'Ceviche (voiced by Elan Garfias) - An anthropomorphic goat with pink hair and a leotard. He is in training to be a dancer, and is apprenticed to Pate. He always speaks in a monotone, and has a crush on Panini. ' * *'Kimchi' (voiced by C.H. Greenblatt) - Chowder's pet and best friend, who lives in a bird cage next to his bed. Kimchi is a stink cloud with tiny eyes (an anthropomorphized flatus). He likes things that smell bad, and "talks" by blowing raspberries. Cancelation It was confirmed that Chowder will not make it to a fourth season. C.H. Greenblatt was looking at the bright side However, it was later revealed by an executive at Cartoon Network that the show was renewed by the network for a fourth season. (YESSHHHHH!!!!!!!) Category:Chowder Media Category:Food